The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dimorphotheca plant, botanically known as Dimorphotheca aurantiaca, and referred to by the cultivar name `Purple Blush`.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Emerald, Victoria, Australia. The objective of the breeding program was to create new Dimorphotheca cultivars with large inflorescences and attractive ray floret colors.
The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor of a proprietary selection of Dimorphotheca aurantiaca identified as code No. 92/18 as the female, or seed, parent and a proprietary selection of Dimorphotheca aurantiaca identified as code No. 93/94, as the mole, or pollen, parent. The new Dimorphotheca was selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of this cross in a controlled environment in Emerald, Victoria, Australia in 1995.
Plants of the new cultivar are different from plants of the female parent, the selection 92/18 in leaf size, ray floret color and inflorescence size. Plants of the new Dimorphotheca are larger and have narrower ray florets than plants of the male parent, the selection 93/94. In addition, plants of the new Dimorphotheca have purple-colored ray floret bases whereas plants of both parent selections do not have purple-colored ray floret bases.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings at Emerald, Victoria, Australia, has shown that the unique features of this new Dimorphotheca are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.